College District Urged to Boost Enrollment

The Los Angeles Community College District might face financial difficulties next year if its nine campuses do not enroll more students, according to a staff report.

District planners project that the average daily attendance by students at the schools may drop 2% this year, possibly leading to a loss of about $2 million in state funds next year. That would account for only about 1% of the district’s expected expenditures but could still lead to restrictions in hiring new maintenance and office workers or cutbacks in supplies, the report says.

“A more positive approach would be an aggressive campaign to increase (average daily attendance) in the summer and fall,” says the study, which also urges that cutbacks should not be made in teaching staff or course offerings.

Acting Vice Chancellor Lawrence Serot said the enrollment drop was caused by what he described as a spiral effect: cutbacks in class offerings last summer, which in turn were caused by previous money shortages. About 92,000 students enrolled for the current spring quarter, 3,300 more than last spring, but that increase may not be enough to overcome the earlier losses, he said.

The campuses are planning to push hard for a bigger enrollment this summer and fall. “I don’t want to speculate on how successful we will be, but unless we try the new students are not going to be there,” Serot said.